One present day means of burning coal in an environmentally acceptable manner is in a fluidized bed. Although this is a viable arrangement from an environmental point of view, it does present other problems to be overcome. One of these problems is the manner in which the fluidized bed and its associated boiler are to be supported. This problem is made more complex when the fuel feed for the fluidized bed furnace is from the top of the unit, since most large boilers are top supported, in order to allow for thermal growth of the unit.